A lot of night music of Stephen Sondheim

"Instead of requiring people to take Philosophy 101, they should require people to take Sondheim 101," conductor Marvin Hamlisch remarked before the final number of Friday's Stephen Sondheim retrospective with the National Symphony Pops Orchestra. He implored us to listen to the lyrics for the closing song, "Move On," also the closing song of Sunday in the Park with George.

Then Liz Callaway and Brian D'Arcy James then came on stage to do the final duet. "Stop worrying where you're going/Move on/If you can know where you're going/You've gone/Just keep moving on," they sang. Though Liz Callaway's Disney voice was a little weak at times, Sondheim's message came on strong: Put the past behind, and you'll be fine.

"Move On" was just one of many songs that displayed Sondheim's rare talent as both a profound lyricist and a lyrical composer. Until Sondheim came on the scene in 1954, musicals usually had a division of labor between the lyricist and the composer. Think Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Leowe, etc. Not only did Sondheim pave the way for solo songwriting, he also came to dominate the field for the next fifty years. Hamlisch's selection of Sondheim songs did a great job displaying Sondheim's range.

Hamlisch's introductory notes for many of the pieces helped the audience appreciate the diversity of Sondheim's subject matter. He covers single life in Company, life's regrets in A Little Night Music, early Broadway in Follies, and--most impressive of all--revenge via a demon barber in Sweeney Todd.

But through it all, a few common themes emerge. Many of Sondheim's musicals are about choice. Looking back on choices not yet made, fearing future choices, weighing choices in the near future. In addition to "Move On," "Send in the Clowns" explores choices made at the wrong time; "On the Steps of the Palace," from Into the Woods tells of Cinderella's first decision to leave her shoe on the steps of the palace, and the ramifications of such a decision. Brian D'Arcy Jame's rendition of "Being Alive," really made

In addition to these themes, the show also highlighted some Sondheim signatures that explain why he's in a league above other musical writers. First, he's great at squeezing really fast lyrics into his music. This creates comic effect and also allows Sondheim to fit in most of what he's best at -- his words. Second, Sondheim moves forward his plots with his songs; they are not simply pauses that reflect on a character's emotional state. Sondheim's characters achieve epiphanies during songs. For instance, in "Being Alive," the main character goes from hating on being in a relationship "Someone to hurt you too deep/Someone to sit in your chair/To ruin your sleep" to conceding that relationships are good, "Alone is alone, not alive."

In fact, many of Sondheim's songs can be summed up in pithy take-aways, which is what Hamlisch probably meant by "Sondheim 101." Not only does Sondheim deliver his messages clearly, he also delivers them with more joy than any course of Philosophy 101.